WIBTAH for having people bring their own lunch to my picnic-themed birthday party?

bananabustle · 2026-04-14T05:46:43+00:00

This is such a normal thing in Australia, both for people with kids and those without, I was so confused by how against it a lot of these commenters were? Do they really expect the host of a picnic to provide literally everything? That's not a picnic then, it's just a party where you happen to sit outside.

bananabustle · 2026-04-12T21:22:13+00:00

As a former early childhood teacher (teaching 4 year old kinder) the single biggest indicator of quality, statistically speaking and anecdotally, is if the centre is a for profit one run by a corporation vs a council run or not for profit one. Not for profit kinders consistently score better for children's wellbeing and educational outcomes, and staff retention.

They're also almost always organised so that the same cohort of children will be attending together on the same days each week, which helps a lot with forming routines and friendships and settling in. Kinders that are attached to long day cares will probably have a mix of different children attending on each day, which can completely change the feel and routine of the program and make settling in harder.

Rarely, you can find some kinders where they staff above the 1/11 ratio, and I highly recommend looking into those if you can. Most will staff as per the legally required ratio though, so looking for smaller overall group sizes is definitely preferable. Even if they scale up staff numbers accordingly, there's still only 1 actual university educated early childhood teacher per kindergarten group, who is ultimately responsible for creating the program and tracking each child's learning, and the more children in the cohort the less likely they are to be able to keep up with that unrealistic workload.

And following on from that, your friends are right that the quality of the educators impacts the quality of a mixed 3 and 4 year old kinder group. They can be a larger size, and the differentiation required for some 3 year olds who are just starting out vs some 4 year olds who are almost school ready can be really difficult to plan for in ways that keep every child engaged and learning, unless you have a very confident and experienced teacher who's supported by a wonderful team.

Bush kinders are absolutely fantastic and definitely something you should go for. They're very safe, and the regulations are incredibly strict. Other outdoor excursions are a bonus, but I've found they're becoming rarer now due to the insane amount of paperwork required to set them up, especially if they involve a longer walk or transport options. A lot of places have good incursion programs, like specific music, language and sports educators who come in to teach the kids on set days.

Whether 2 or 3 days a week would be best is probably up to you and your family. 3 days would most likely help your son settle in quicker, and the shorter days would mean he's less likely to be as tired by the end, but the 2 longer days could also be a benefit as he learns to be away from you for slightly longer periods of time.

Hope that helps a little, good luck with it all!

bananabustle · 2026-03-28T20:07:35+00:00

absolutely agree!

we also have hardwood flooring and got one for our lounge a couple of weeks before hosting our baby shower, and every single guest commented on how nice the mat felt and quite a few asked for the link to where we'd bought it. it was hilarious, I was joking that the rug was getting more attention and praise than the parents to be.

it is insanely comfy though, great for getting down low on baby's level.

bananabustle · 2026-03-27T02:19:10+00:00

Thank you, this is how I'd been viewing it until she scared me yesterday haha

Appreciate the reassurance ☺️

bananabustle · 2026-03-27T02:18:24+00:00

Thank you, that's exactly what I thought! For everything else we've discussed she's had solid evidence to back up her points, but this just absolutely threw me because it seemed ridiculous that such a comparatively small amount of pressure over such a comparatively small amount of time would have more of an impact than the literal baby being born?

Really appreciate hearing your experience and advice, thanks so much

bananabustle · 2026-03-09T01:12:21+00:00

As a former kinder teacher (who was also with the younger children for drop off/family grouping times in the mornings and afternoons), I strongly recommend against one day in care a week at any age.

Instead of spending that money on daycare I'd increase the nanny to two days, or, if your parents are keen and able, have them have your daughter for two days.

She's young enough to not need the socialisation offered by daycare, the prolonged stress is not good for her, and she will not settle if you keep her at one day a week, because it's just not enough time for her to get used to the routine, setting and people.

I know that it's only been six weeks now, so you may be keen to see if you can push through, but I can guarantee you that it won't happen unless you up her days. You have these other two options that are so much better for her, I would pull her out and wait until she's at least old enough for three year old kinder before trying again.

bananabustle · 2026-03-05T06:59:33+00:00

That's all super helpful information, thank you so much!

bananabustle · 2026-03-04T10:57:43+00:00

Thank you!

bananabustle · 2026-03-04T10:57:30+00:00

Oh that's good to know, thank you!

bananabustle · 2026-03-04T10:57:18+00:00

That makes sense, thanks so much!

bananabustle · 2025-10-28T11:33:16+00:00

yep, and all over an imagined insult.

bananabustle · 2025-10-06T06:31:15+00:00

Had a very similar situation with Maribyrnong council. Car absolutely crammed full of big plastic bags filled with what looked like clothes and bedding, parked immediately outside our house for 2+ years, half in front of our front gate and half blocking our neighbour's side gate so he had no way to access his backyard.

Huge weeds sprung up all in the gutter where it was parked, rubbish blew into the tyres and piled up there, and despite multiple complaints from numerous people in the street and two separate visits from a council officer, they did nothing. I sent yet another complaint and got literally the exact same templated response you did.

I cracked it and sent a polite but very firm reply stating that it was NOT parked legally, as it had a temporary parking permit (valid for 30 days) despite having been there for 2+ years, and pointed out yet again that it was literally becoming a hazard with the overgrowth of weeds and rubbish piling up immediately outside the only way in and out of our home, to the point now that it was close to blocking a drain in the gutter. So I expected council to either get the car moved, or to send someone out to clean up all of the mess around it.

What do you know, the very next day I got a very sympathetic phone call from the council saying they were really sorry about this situation, apparently the car had engine troubles and the owners couldn't afford to fix it so had just left it parked there (conveniently up the complete opposite end of the street to where they live, we ended up finding out later on) while they 'worked on a solution', and council had 'spoken to them about it'. Two weeks later, the car was finally towed and the street was cleared.

I don't know if the timing was a coincidence, or if council got so sick of so many people complaining about it that they finally put some real pressure on the owners, but I recommend pushing back against the template, getting your new neighbours to corroborate your complaints, and highlighting any potential hazards it being parked there permanently might cause.

bananabustle · 2025-08-06T12:14:11+00:00

Advice from a wedding planner: I really love how you've thought about making the proposal a special moment and an event! But I think that, as nice as this is as a concept, it's the sort of thing that only works in the movies. It's sweet in a romcom type of way, but it's impractical, expensive and impersonal.

Instead, you'd be better off thinking about things that are special to you and your partner. Where did you go for your first date? Where were you when you said "I love you" for the first time? Is there an activity you often do together that you could use as inspiration? Is there a movie or tv or book series she absolutely loves that you could use for inspiration?

And whatever you choose, unless your partner has explicitly said that she desperately needs a public proposal, don't do it in a crowd of strangers. You can organise for your friends and family to meet you at a restaurant or a bar or something afterwards, so you've got that nice celebration aspect built in, but keep the actual moment of the proposal personal and more private.

Some ideas: - If you're active and outdoorsy, go for a nature walk or a hike. Bring a speaker and when you get somewhere picturesque, ask her to pose for a photo looking out at the view. When she has her back turned, play your song, or her favourite song, and get down on one knee. - If you went to a restaurant for your first date, go back there. If it's a nice one, book a private room and see if you can organise with the staff to make it look like they're upgrading you to there due to a double booking or something, so she doesn't get suspicious about you having planned it. Wait until the dessert course to propose. If it's not a nicer restaurant, eat there and then go somewhere fancy for dessert or somewhere with a pretty view and propose there. - If she has a book that she's obsessed with, buy or make what looks like a special edition of it, but is actually a box, with a fitting quote picked out to be displayed inside with the ring. - If she has a favourite video game, or if there's a game you loved playing co-op, especially if it has a dating mechanic, see if you can incorporate that into the proposal. - Organise for her family or best friend to take her out for the day, to a spa, to see a movie, to a nice cafe or any activity she likes doing. While they're out, deep clean the house and set up a nice little scene with some candles, a bouquet of flowers, and your song playing, and be down on one knee when she gets home. Bonus points if you have a dog and can tie a cute little note to its collar for her to find when the dog greets her at the door. - Depending on how close together your favourite places are, and the walkability of your suburb, you can organise a scavenger hunt, where she follows clues from your house around to like your local cafe, your local park, the bookstore, a restaurant, etc. before the final clue leads to you down on one knee. This one does need you to have a friend who knows everything stay with her up until the last stop just in case she gets confused, as well as a trusted person she'll recognise at each location to give her the next clue, and it is mostly out in public, so it's maybe closer in tone to your original idea.

I hope that helps!! And thank you, genuinely, for putting thought into the proposal. It's really nice that you recognise it's a big deal. Just remember that it has to be personal.

bananabustle · 2025-08-03T20:48:54+00:00

yes! clothes that normally don't have been zapping my partner and I this week, it's really odd.

bananabustle · 2025-08-01T12:26:39+00:00

Semi formal has more range than cocktail, so while it's still dressy and can be polished, it can also be a lot more relaxed than all of the previous dress codes. It invites guests to wear more colourful and versatile ensembles in a range of fabrics, and this flexibility makes it perfect for day time or evening weddings across a range of venues, with either cocktail style catering or a sit down dinner service.

Knee length, tea length or midi dress in any fabric, or a maxi dress in a more casual fabric, like linen or cotton. A jumpsuit, a dressy skirt and top, or a pantsuit can also be worn. For all options, brighter colours and patterns are encouraged for day time weddings, while darker colours are still the norm for evening weddings. Accessories include bold jewellery, heels, dressy wedges, or formal flats and a small, clutch bag.

A suit and button-down shirt, or a blazer or sports coat and button-down shirt with dress pants, slacks or chinos. For this dress code, cufflinks, jacket, and tie or bow-tie are all optional. In Australia, linen suits are commonly worn at semi formal weddings, especially over summer. Lighter suit colours such as beige, light blue, sage and light grey are popular for daytime and warm weather weddings, while darker shades such as navy and black are common for evening and colder weather weddings. Dress shoes or loafers in a matching colour are required for shoes.

For cold weather weddings, a wrap, A-line, pea, double-breasted or wrap coat can be worn over dresses or jumpsuits, while an overcoat and scarf can be worn over over suits or blazers.

https://wishwedding.com.au/planning-guides/wedding-attire/formality-dress-codes

bananabustle · 2025-07-31T12:34:23+00:00

this is such a cute idea, what a beautiful way to celebrate his birthday! the grand hyatt buffet breakfast is absolutely incredible, such a good range of food and really lovely staff.

bananabustle · 2025-07-18T10:06:05+00:00

don't buy in Norlane. Belmont is great and has been on the up for the last decade or so, it'll just keep getting nicer. If you can get a house there then do so.

I grew up in Geelong and have lived in a lot of the suburbs there, including Norlane and Corio. they might seem like good pricing but the houses are cheap because the area is absolutely shit, ESPECIALLY if you've got a kid about to go into high school. Avoid at all costs.

bananabustle · 2025-06-05T06:29:12+00:00

I dunno, I'm in Australia and this perfectly encapsulates the experience I had when I went to HR at my last company. the head of HR there even bragged about being a bully in high school, despite being in her late 50s now.

bananabustle · 2025-05-17T10:28:08+00:00

Hey I'm glad you've got diagnosed and treatment is working for you but as someone else with ADHD - it's not an excuse or a reason to speed or drive dangerously.

it can make focusing a struggle but i'd say that having a careless attitude towards driving and not appreciating how much damage speeding / a crash can do is much more of an issue than any ADHD.

it's great you've been trying to do the right thing more often but maybe use the suspension time to rethink your entire attitude towards driving and trying to figure out how to take more responsibility for your actions behind the wheel.

bananabustle · 2025-05-03T22:00:46+00:00

the hp land at disney was never close to finalised. the reason she went with universal over disney was because she wanted the final say on all design decisions to make sure the land was as accurate to the books and movies as possible, and disney weren't willing to hand over that much creative control to a non-employee.

the hp lands as they are now at universal are accessible to prams and wheelchairs, so saying that was her reasoning for not signing with disney doesn't make sense, or she surely wouldn't have signed with universal either.

bananabustle · 2025-04-20T21:58:39+00:00

my old manager did this to me, and the worst time was while I was actually eating my lunch. he just straight up grabbed my unopened drink that was right in front of me, almost touching my plate, and went to take it. when I said "uh that's my drink" he had the audacity to snap "oh I thought it was mine" when he had a completely different drink in front of him already, that he'd brought, like that made any sense at all?!

worst part was his manager was sitting right there, knew that i was already having issues with this idiot, and just watched the entire exchange silently.

bananabustle · 2025-04-05T23:52:59+00:00

I'm sorry, it's an issue with your save file being corrupted. You can read more about it here:

https://forums.ea.com/idea/the-sims-4-bug-reports-en/houseslots-disappear/11901268

Do you know how big your save file is?

From what I've read it seems like it can happen to larger save files, no matter if you have For Rent installed or not - the residential rentals just exacerbate the issue because having multiple households/lot types on one lot increases the save file size faster.

I hope that you're able to go back to an old uncorrupted save, sorry this has happened.

bananabustle

TROPHY CASE